Sentences Reduced for Two Jewish Security Prisoners

July 19, 1974

JERUSALEM (Jul. 18)

The Supreme Court ordered substantial reductions yesterday of prison sentences of two young Jews who were sentenced two years ago for contact with a foreign agent. Rami Livneh, son of Rakah Knesset member Avraham Levenbraun, received four years imprisonment instead of the original 10 years, and Mali Lerman will serve a two-year sentence instead of seven years.

The two belonged to a Jewish Arab group which was involved in security offenses for ideological reasons. Their arrest almost two years ago caused a public storm, for it was the first time that Jewish intellectuals were found involved in action that linked them to Israel’s enemies.

The Supreme Court Judges now found that the two did meet a foreign agent, but there was no proof that the purpose of the meeting was to act against the security of the State. The judges did find the two guilty of covering for a Fatah agent who was in Israel, although they knew that he came here to assemble information and to recruit members for the terror organizations. The Supreme Court will hear other appeals by members of the same group next month.